Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Effectiveness Of Using Video Modeling On Increasing Positive Social Interaction In Academic Settings In Students With Learning Disabilities In Saudi Arabia, Ayman Abdullah Alamri, Ayman Abdullah Alamri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video Modeling (VM) is a widely used intervention strategy to promote academic learning and positive social interactions in children with disabilities by watching a video clip modeled by a peer (peers) demonstrating the desired behavior. Limited research has been conducted on this topic to examine VM’s effectiveness on promoting positive social interactions in academic settings involving children with learning disabilities (LD). This study employed a single subject research design, specifically, a multiple baseline across participant design, to fill the void in the literature. The researcher invited three elementary students between 4^th to 6^th grade who met the inclusion …

Implications Of Individuals With Music Learning Experience Using A Segmented Multimedia Lesson In A Non-Music Discipline, Cheryl Farren Tkacs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how prior music learning experience relates to learning with multimedia resources in non-music disciplines. Specifically, whether years of music learning experience, type of music learning experience, or type of multimedia were associated with task scores and task duration in a non-music discipline. The study revealed the transferable benefits of music learning experience to learning outcomes in other disciplines. Encouraging music studies as part of the base curriculum is thus strongly encouraged. However, as years of music learning and the presence or absence of segmenting in multimedia learning resources were not found to …

Rural Elementary Teacher Beliefs Regarding The Effectiveness Of Their Homework Practices During The Pandemic, Daniel Clara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through the lenses of C.S. Peirce’s Belief and Genuine Doubt, Albert Bandura’s Self Efficacy and Collective Efficacy, Bernard Weiner’s Attribution Theory, and Critical Race Theory, this dissertation captured and codified rural elementary teacher beliefs regarding homework and its effectiveness related to learning, and in particular, the effects brought on by the 2020 COVID 19 school closure. Rural school systems are under-researched and present notable differences in homework challenges, including access to libraries, technology and distance from home to school. Using qualitative research, this study identified themes regarding teacher perceptions of homework. The author explained that many of the long-held tenants …

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students' Self-Efficacy For The Doctoral Capstone Experience: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Ann B. Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine factors that influence occupational therapy doctoral students’ self-efficacy for the Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE). Six doctoral students enrolled in an entry-level occupational therapy doctoral program at a private university were recruited to participate. Students completed a four-item self-efficacy rating scale prior to and several times throughout their DCE. Participants also participated in semi-structured phone interviews regarding their relationship with their Site Mentor after completing the DCE.

Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. The quantitative analysis determined that there were no significant differences in self-efficacy for students …

A Theoretical Framework For Effective Education In Rural High-Poverty Schools, Harley Ramsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated “why” some educational leaders are effective in serving rural high-poverty populations and to better understand “how” to enact effective leadership in similar spaces. Core principles of Critical Social Theory, Systems Leadership Theory, and Emotional Intelligence informed this work. Using a Grounded Theory methodology, a theoretical framework for effective educational leadership in rural high-poverty schools emerged. This framework suggests that effective educational leaders take a systems leadership approach to guiding their organizations to more equitable and socially just ends. Such leaders honor student and family voices and actively seek to understand and respond to their lived realities. They …

Communication As Change: Marshall Mcluhan And A Transformation Model Of Communication, Lane Grafton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work synthesizes Marshall McLuhan’s transformation model of communication with a trivium-based educational model and challenges the modern-day position of unreflective mediated communication. McLuhan’s transformation model demonstrates that communication is more than the transfer of content; rather, it is a transformation of perception. This work broadens the analysis and suggests that figure and ground relationships are integral to seeing the whole of media transformations. Through figure and ground relationships, communication unfolds as a study of perceptual change. The work explores perceptual change within the context of McLuhan’s conversion to the Catholic Church and underscores the importance of a unified mind …

The Beliefs Literacy Specialists Hold Regarding Processes That Assist Struggling Readers With The Comprehension Of Informational Text, Marguerite Haldin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children have a basic human right to read. It is the evolving work of the reading/literacy specialists to provide support and build confidence in readers struggling in all components of reading. The purpose of this study is to explore the beliefs of reading/literacy specialists regarding the processes that assist struggling readers with the comprehension of informational text. The methods used were designed to address the research question: What are the beliefs reading/literacy specialists hold regarding processes that assist struggling readers with the comprehension of informational text? Nineteen members of a professional learning group from an intermediate unit in Southwestern Pennsylvania, …

The Ethical Justification Of Increasing Awareness Of Preventive Medicine Among Healthcare Professionals, Patients And The General Public In The United States, Karishma Ether Moazzam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While practiced for centuries, preventive medicine has received increased attention during the recent times. Preventive medicine has a distinct mission to protect, promote, and maintain health as well as to prevent diseases, disabilities, and premature deaths. It aims to fulfill its mission through the combined form of clinical intervention and health promotion. In the recent years, preventive medicine has begun to lean more towards the clinical interventions, taking away from the health promotion. This imbalance has caused preventive medicine to lose its effectiveness in fulfilling its mission. One of the leading causes for such imbalance is the lack of proper …

A Rhetoric And Philosophy Of Interprofessional Healthcare Education: Communication Ethics In Action, Matthew Corr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare professionals belong to a moral community. Caring for patients is a community act carried out by healthcare professionals working in teams within complex political and organizational systems. This teamwork is crucial to quality patient outcomes; however, incivility threatens to derail necessary and effective collaboration towards the common organizational good. Necessarily, interprofessional healthcare education is becoming a required element for pre-health professionals. Currently, schools are using competency-based approaches to interprofessional education to teach ethics/values, roles/responsibilities. communication, and teamwork. For reasons explicated throughout this dissertation, the categorizing of these particular elements as competencies is problematic and cultivated within a positivistic and …

St. Augustine And The Rhetoric Of De Ordine, Natalie Gigliotti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study contributes to scholarship on the question of Augustine and rhetoric by considering Augustine’s use and understanding of rhetoric in De ordine, one of his early philosophical dialogues composed during his transition from a life in rhetoric to a life in philosophy. The author studies the text through consideration of Augustine’s rhetoric in relationship to three major rhetorical authorities of the time, particularly their cultural applications: sophistic rhetoric, Ciceronian rhetoric, and Christian rhetoric. Through study of these relationships, one perceives Augustine’s ingenuity at work as he integrates diverse authorities into his rhetoric of order (ordo) and …

Independence Through Patient Education In A Spinal Cord Injury Population, Justin Mctish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Know More, Live Better program was developed because the population of people with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) includes a substantial number of young people, who often readmit into hospitals for preventable causes such as pressure ulcers, respiratory infections, and bowel/bladder infections. These complications can be avoided through patient education. A needs assessment was conducted at the SCI unit at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, PA. This assessment included structured observation of patient education in the therapy process, semi-structured interviews about site needs and patient education topics completed with patients and occupational therapists on staff, and surveys of multi-disciplinary …

Action To Awareness: Surfacing Dysconscious Racism Through Focused Professional Development, Dorry Altman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing critical race theory (Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995) and King’s (1991) theory of dysconscious racism, this dissertation aims to explore the beliefs and actions of teachers operating within an inherently racist society. Teachers struggle with many disadvantages from inadequate funding to lacking support structures. Yet these teachers continue to work hard to support their students. One external disadvantage these teachers may face and not even be aware of is dysconscious racism. Through a qualitative pilot study of journals and discussions of two middle school English Language Arts teachers, this research intends to explore how intentional classroom changes to encourage and …

Comparison Of Two Methods Of Pediatric Triage Education, Catherine Recznik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. The majority of pediatric emergency patients are seen in mixed-age emergency departments and triaged by general emergency nurses. Educational methods for teaching pediatric triage education to general emergency nurses have not been well studied, and previous studies of the use of the Emergency Severity Index in children have been performed primarily in centers that are high volume for pediatrics. Methods. A repeated measures, randomized crossover study comparing two different methods of pediatric triage education was conducted. Participants were general emergency triage nurses recruited from a general emergency department that is classified as low volume for pediatrics. Each participant was …

The Contribution Of Ethical Reasoning Skills In Forensic Science, Lyndsie Ferrara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Forensic science applies scientific methods to matters related to the legal system. Members of the forensic field are part of the criminal justice system charged with upholding justice through science. Numerous wrongful convictions and ethical issues involving forensic science indicate a need to dissect the field from a different perspective. Stories in the media regularly identify ethical issues in forensic science ranging from individual misconduct to systemic organizational failures that lead to injustice. Even with these journalistic investigations, a lack of awareness remains regarding the contribution of ethical reasoning skills in forensic science. This dissertation addresses that gap in the …

Determining The Specific Transition Needs Of Military And Veteran Students (Mvs), A Qualitative/Mixed Methods Study, Donald Accamando

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A number of challenges await military and veteran students (MVS) as they make their way to college campuses. These non-traditional students will transition to an environment different from the one they experienced while serving. This problem exists because a majority of the post-secondary schools across the country are not prepared to assist with their transition.

An initial review of the literature related to a veteran student’s transition to college has shown that very few colleges and universities offer a transition program developed specifically for this non-traditional student group. This has led to the formulation of two research questions:

1. What …

The Utility Of A Theoretical Framework Of A Culture Of Leadership, James E. Wortman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the utility of a Culture of Leadership Framework for both evaluating and contributing to the formation of a dynamic school culture that infuses leadership up, down, and throughout the membership of the school learning community with students as a central figure. The Culture of Leadership Framework emerged from an extensive review of the literature and includes four distinct dimensions (indicators) that become critical to analyzing the data: Leadership Orientation, Leveraging Leadership, Leadership for Learning, and Leadership Growth. The researcher used a general interpretive process of close reading to develop themes from extant …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing The Impact Of An Innovative Approach To Educating New To Practice Nurses, Evelyn Lengetti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background/Purpose

Catheter associated Urinary Tract Infections (CaUTI) are preventable, and hospitals receive no additional reimbursement for these infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of mastery learning compared to traditional learning on new nurses’ skill acquisition and self-regulation practices for indwelling urinary catheter insertion.

Theoretical Framework

Mastery Learning posits that all learners have the potential to achieve mastery when given the time to learn along with deliberate practice and repetition. Traditional Learning, a more rote instructional approach, emphasizes memorization with a single summative assessment. Self-regulation signifies actions practiced by the learner to gain new knowledge which …

Social Functioning Characteristics Of A Young Adult With A History Of Childhood Apraxia Of Speech, Nicole Anne Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a pediatric speech sound disorder (SSD) that results from a motor planning impairment for volitional speech movements. This underlying impairment causes pervasive errors in speech sound production and often leads to problems with intelligibility, thus inhibiting effective communication. Longitudinal studies have found children with various communication impairments to be less successful in social interactions compared to their typically developing peers, and that this can lead to poor social functioning outcomes (Beitchman et al., 1996; Clegg, Hollis, Mawhood, & Rutter, 2005; Craig, 1993; Durkin & Conti-Ramsden, 2007). Yet, there is no research to date on …

An Examination Of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers' Integration Of Technology Into Instructional Activities Using A Cognitive Demand Perspective And Levels Of Technology Implementation, Ahmet Oguz Akcay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology has changed every aspect of our lives such as communication, shopping, games, business, and education. Technology has been used for decades in the teaching and learning environment in K-12 education and higher education, especially in mathematics education where the use of instructional technology has great potential. Today's students have grown up in the technology era, so our education system should consider this situation before developing curriculum and instructional strategies. Technology can increase the quality of mathematical investigations, portray meaningful mathematical ideas to students and teachers from multiple perspectives, and change traditional ways of doing mathematics (NCTM, 2000). According to …

Poverty And The Challenge Of Quality Primary And Secondary School Education Access In Mara-Tanzania, Agnes Bhoke-Africanus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although poverty draws global deliberations, still it continues to be a complicated parable, driving people to the scarceness of opportunities, resources and capability deprivation as a result of education limitation–leading to ignorance decease, again poverty, and its consequences. As I write, education has been promoted in Tanzania, and more children have access to education than ever, and yet, it doesn't warrant that children have a fair access to quality education. The marginalized children, including children from poor families, orphans, children with disabilities, street children, and nomadic children hang on struggling to access quality education.

The goal of this study was …

Examining The Use Of Mindfulness Meditation To Enhance Attention Regulation Efficiency In Nursing Students, Kathleen Burger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of mindfully-attentive nursing graduates is a heightened charge for pre-licensure nurse educators given an increasingly complex healthcare workplace in which nurse's must detect patient risk among multiple stimuli, distractions, and interruption (Beyea, 2007; Cornell et al., 2010; Ebright, et al., 2006). Novice nurses frequently report symptoms of cognitive overload associated with error and other negative patient outcomes (Ebright, Urden, Patterson, & Chalko, 2004; McGillis Hall et al., 2010; Unver, Tastan, & Akbayrak, 2012) yet standard pre-licensure nursing curricula does not specifically prepare students for the needed attention regulation skills of safe nursing practice. Recent and accumulating neuroscientific research …

Teachers' Perceptions Of An Online Social Network As An Instructional Platform: The Impact Of An Edmodo-Based Professional Development Workshop, Ashley Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today's students are learning and communicating in increasingly digital ways, which is challenging instructors to rethink their practice in order to meet their students' needs. These needs include instant access to information, student-centered learning, and control over their own learning. With the rapid adoption and progression of technology in education, understanding instructors' perceptions of technology that supports digital-age learners becomes important, as instructors' perceptions can influence the effectiveness of technology integration. This study examined one particular technology, the Online Social Network (OSN), using Edmodo in light of how it is perceived as an instructional platform. Additionally, whether the OSN supports …

A Comparison Of Two Interventions In A Response To Intervention (Rti) Framework Across Student Problem Type, Lisa Maloney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students indicated as tier two candidates in a Response to Intervention (RtI) framework require evidence-based intervention to increase positive behaviors. This study examined the effectiveness of two tier two behavior interventions (BEP/CICO and Strong Kids small group social skills training) across two groups at the second tier of a RtI behavior framework. Specifically, student problem type (internalizing or externalizing) was evaluated with treatment outcomes to determine which intervention was more successful. In addition, each intervention was evaluated in terms of treatment integrity with typical school personnel (school counselors) and perception of social validity. This study utilized a randomized block design …

All Of A Sudden: The Role Of ἘξαίΦνης In Plato's Dialogues, Joseph J. Cimakasky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are thirty-six appearances of the Greek word ἐξαίφνης in Plato's dialogues. Usually translated as "all of a sudden" or "suddenly, " ἐξαίφνης emerges in several significant passages. For example, ἐξαίφνης appears three times in the "allegory of the cave" from Republic vii, and heralds the vision of the Beautiful in Symposium. Commonly translated in the Parmenides as "the instant, " ἐξαίφνης also surfaces in a crucial section of the dialogue's training exercise. This dissertation demonstrates the connection obtaining between the thirty-six scattered appearances of ἐξαίφνης in order to reveal the role it plays in linking Plato's theory of ideas …

Graduate Students' Perception Of Curriculum-Based Efficacy Of The Acquisition Of Multicultural Counseling Skills, Demond Ethridge Bledsoe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is undergoing a period in which the demographics of the population are shifting drastically. The profession of counseling is tasked with providing services to diverse groups of clients, many of whom may have experienced racism, prejudice, and oppression as a result of their cultural or ethnic identity. Literature suggests that cultural and ethnic minority clients have poorer outcomes than their majority counterparts, and a significant factor in gaining positive treatment outcomes is the multicultural skill development in the clinician; however, little research focusing on effective delivery methods for multicultural skill development in counselor trainees has been conducted. …

The Effect Of Education On Elder Abuse, Kathleen M. Evanina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed examine the effect of education on prevention of abuse in a long term care center. Participants in this study included direct care worker staff at a nursing home and nursing home residents.

Are You My Brother's Keeper: Challenging The Systemic Racism That Fosters Low Expectations For Black Males In Public Schools, Shana Denise Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice investigates the problem of systemic racism fostering a culture of low expectations for Black males in public schools. This work frames this problem as a matter of social justice and utilizes Critical Race Theory to examine how it robs Black males of their academic potential. This work argues that to address this problem, educators must engage in learning opportunities that help to identify and challenge their race-based assumptions and stereotypes, develop their racial consciousness, cultural competencies, and professional practices, and recognize, interrupt, and address systemic racism. Provided is a working agenda that offers recommendations for how …

Tackling Urban Poverty In The Secondary Learning Environment, Nina Marie Sacco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice examined in this dissertation in practice is that many urban schools that serve low socioeconomic communities fail to engage and, therefore, empower students to succeed. The purpose of this dissertation is to identify how urban poverty presents in secondary learning environments (i.e. high schools), to report findings on how urban poverty presents in one urban high school, and to report on an emerging model for engaging stakeholders across the boundaries of school, academy, and community to improve student success for those who attend such schools. Urban students of low socioeconomic status who attend secondary schools with …

The Metalogicon Of John Of Salisbury: Medieval Rhetoric As Educational Praxis, Brian Gilchrist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the following question: what are the implications of John of Salisbury's rhetorical theory for his approach to education? The Metalogicon, John's defense of the trivium, represents the primary text analyzed throughout the project. John's medieval rhetorical theory explicated the reciprocal relationship between rhetoric and education. The art of rhetoric acquired educational elements by providing ethical-theoretical frameworks to inform the practices of students and teachers. Experiences from the practices of students and teachers influenced the art of rhetoric. John called for an approach to medieval rhetorical education that could be placed into the service of all people living …

Emotional Intelligence Of Entrepreneurs, Eric P. Swift

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurship benefits the individual and society, but it was unclear whether emotional intelligence (EI) predicts entrepreneurial outcomes. New ventures fail at a high rate. A possible factor in the success or failure of small business could be the emotional intelligence (EI) level of the entrepreneur, defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. However, few studies to date had empirically explored EI and entrepreneurship or investigated the predictive value of EI in important measures of entrepreneurial outcomes, such as the success rate in starting new businesses, business longevity, and business profitability. The present study was designed to …